Vehicle crash delays South Portland school bus departures

School buses leaving from all South Portland schools were delayed Friday because of a vehicle crash that shut down a key section of Broadway between Evans Street and Lincoln Street, the school district said.

A Central Maine Power Co. crew responded to repair a broken utility pole at the accident site, which forced authorities to close the roadway, effectively shuttering one of the few major thoroughfares.

Superintendent Ken Kunin said work to repair the pole was expected to last until 4:30 p.m. at the earliest, but could stretch toward 6 p.m. He said the transportation department is rerouting buses, which are forced to either go into Portland and back to South Portland, or work their way around on the Scarborough side.

Kunin said he has been communicating with parents via mass email and text messages, as well as utilizing an emergency transportation alert system that parents can sign up for.

The crash took place about 1:15 p.m., when a white box truck clipped a utility pole entering a driveway, snapping it in half, said South Portland Police Lt. Thomas Simonds.

No one was injured and no other vehicles were involved, Simonds said.

“That particular pole has a lot of utilities on it,” he said. “So it takes a while.”

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